The Rant's mission is to offer information that is useful in business administration, economics, finance, accounting, and everyday life. The mission of the People of God is to be salt of the earth and light of the world. This people is "a most sure seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the whole human race." Its destiny "is the Kingdom of God which has been begun by God himself on earth and which must be further extended until it has been brought to perfection by him at the end of time."
Friday, May 18, 2018
"On Deadline: Managing Media Relations" - An Analysis (part 7)
News: What It Is and How It Gets to the Public (part D)
by
Charles Lamson
Looking for News
Whether you practice media relations full time, part time or as a volunteer, the way to find news in your organization is to become a reporter. If you think as a reporter trained to ask questions, you will find that you are constantly coming across story ideas.
Do not just accept the existence of your company's training or engineering departments. Why are they there? What role do they play in the accomplishment of overall organizational goals and objectives? What relevance can they have to current issues such as the environment, education, loss of jobs, downsizing, literacy, child/elder care? Why does the organization invest in these departments? If you look closely you will find a mine of interesting stories.
Do not assume that personal news would not be used. Promotions are newsworthy not just to the business, financial or trade press but also to the person's hometown papers, alumni magazines and professional society journals. Some of these items, depending on visual appeal, could interest television as well. All of these items are good fodder for your organization's intranet as well as its News site or blog.
An excellent source of story material about your organization is the internal newsletter or newspaper. Sending this publication out to editors in your area---either via a printed copy or online---often can generate a flow of activity as the media seek to expand a story or get a different angle on it. Items covered in an internal publication that could interest journalists include:
Suggestion award winners and entrepreneurs. Rewarding an employee for ingenious thinking makes for a good story beyond the company gates, as does a story about an employee who acts as an internal entrepreneur.
Company-sponsored blood drives. Finding out who has donated the most blood for the most number of years can help an editor get a story idea. Perhaps there is an employee who has traced his/her donation to see who received it. Perhaps blood collected at your facility was sent to a disaster site.
Unusual jobs. Not all jobs are glamorous, nor are they dull and boring. There are, within most organizations, jobs that do not fit the normal mode. For example, who inspects the cables that haul up the elevators in the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur?
Service projects sponsored by the company. More and more companies are being judged by the external service they provide to the community. The stories still need to be unique in order to be considered news. Having a clothing drive is not unique but refurbishing computers to donate to nonprofit organizations is.
Introduction of new technologies, equipment or software. The information age brings with it an abundance of items about new, laborsaving, information-sharing, global-connecting devices and software. Depending on the function, there probably is a story. Technology stories work well in---and from---the media of developing countries.
Seasonal events. Special activities planned for major holidays should be brought to the media's attention as soon as possible. There are more organizations wanting to highlight their activities than there are media slots in which to place them. Look for what makes your activity different or unique. Humanize it.
Production records. Turning out the zillionth widget can be an item worth noting if your organization is the first to make a zillion widgets, or if you did so in record time. For the nonprofit area, there can be production records in terms of time, numbers of people served or other units of measurement.
Construction news. If your organization is building a new facility or renovating an existing one, information about the progress may be welcomed by the media as a possible visual story or, at the very least, a reminder that a story will be coming when the work is completed.
Visiting dignitaries. If a home-office executive or your senator is visiting the local plant and can make appearances or be available for interviews, the media would like to know. The same holds true for national or international officers of civic or professional organizations.
Organization milestones. There are always anniversaries of one kind or another to commemorate; often, these dates will be relevant to the community or offer an opportunity to reflect on changes brought about by your company or service organization.
Organization awards. Vendors, government agencies, service groups and others often present awards to organizations for achievements in such areas as conservation, quality and community support. Both groups benefit from publicity on the award.
CEO and executive profiles. Business and other journals like to profile key leaders in the industry and/or town.
This list is far from complete, but it shows the possibilities for news that already exists within your organization.
Coming up with a list of story ideas that can be presented to editors is like preparing a menu: there will always be offerings for customers, and there should also be daily specials to entice customers to return. Do not be discouraged, however, if the editor decides he or she does not want anything from your offering today; tomorrow, that same editor may decide your fare is the best in town.
Ways to Generate Media Interest in Your Organization
Look for logical connections between your business and the goodwill services you may be able to offer your community at little or no additional expense. A manufacturing company with a large groundskeeping staff launched a neighborhood tree-planting program.
Consider launching a public information service aimed at educating consumers on issues you and others in your organization are experts on. A hospital uses nurses and doctors to talk about childcare. A detergent company uses its technicians to discuss the best ways to care for furniture, clean stains and organize housework.
Never miss the chance to develop a year-end wrap up story on your organization's success during the past 12 months. Also consider doing a look ahead as each new year approaches.
Spend some time developing local angles for your organization during national awareness weeks and days.
Always include freelance writers on your news-release distribution list. While this may not result in an immediate story, it will keep you and your organization in front of folks who frequently develop magazine and newspaper feature stories.
Look for ways to promote a cleaner environment in your city. Donate materials (trash bags, trucks, refreshments and so on) to groups sponsoring litter clean up programs.
*SOURCE: ON DEADLINE: MANAGING MEDIA RELATIONS, 2006, CAROLE M. HOWARD AND WILMA K. MATHEWS, PGS. 29-32*
No comments:
Post a Comment